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Modern and Contemporary British Art

Explore the best of British art from 1940 to today

Pauline Boty, The Only Blonde in the World 1963. Tate. © The estate of Pauline Boty.

Explore works that changed art as we know it from the Second World War to now. These rooms reflect an explosion of new ideas, styles and voices that transformed British art and society. Look out for paintings, sculptures, installations and photography by modern icons like Barbara Hepworth and Francis Bacon as well as contemporary works by Tracey Emin, Zineb Sedira and many more.

Find out what came before with Historic and Early Modern British Art.

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13 rooms in Modern and Contemporary British Art

Fear and Freedom

The Post-War era is one of immense social change and dramatic geopolitical realignment. Artists give visual expression to the experiences of loss, destruction and displacement, yet also to independence and freedom

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F.N. Souza, Crucifixion 1959. Tate. © The estate of F.N. Souza/DACS, London 2024.

Construction

As Britain begins to rebuild, some artists use new materials in dialogue with modern design and architecture, believing art can help build a new society

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Denis Williams, Painting in Six Related Rhythms 1955. Tate. © Estate of Denis Williams.

Creation and Destruction

In the 1960s artists in Britain adopt a radical approach to question society’s values, merging art with life

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John Latham, Belief System 1959. Tate. © John Latham Estate, courtesy Lisson Gallery, London.

In Full Colour

Social changes, popular media and a new spirit of optimism inspire artists to embrace vibrant, colour-saturated imagery

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David Hockney, A Bigger Splash 1967. Tate. © David Hockney.

Franciszka Themerson

These films, drawings and paintings mingle tragedy and humour to explore the turbulent years before and after the Second World War

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Franciszka Themerson, Two Pious Persons Making their Way to Heaven, one propellered, one helicoptered, with a little angel below 1951. Tate. © Estate of Franciszka Themerson and Stefan Themerson.

Ideas into Action

Artists begin working with ideas and images that can be rapidly transmitted in an increasingly interconnected world, addressing political and social issues

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Neil Kenlock MBE, Black Panther school bags 1970, printed 2010. Tate. © reserved.

Henry Moore

From the comfort of family to the destruction of war, Moore’s sculptures and drawings explore enduring subjects

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Francis Bacon and Henry Moore

Bacon and Moore’s dynamic figures explore the relationship between form and space

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Balraj Khanna

In these poetic, abstract paintings Balraj Khanna explores ideas of nature, community, imagination and the unconscious

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No Such Thing as Society

Against a backdrop of economic and social transformation, artists in the 1980s explore their experience of the land and the body to reflect on their own identities and sense of belonging

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End of a Century

Media, money and celebrity transforms the landscape of British art. Provocative young artists take centre stage, while others contemplate cross-cultural identities

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The State We're In

This final room in our five-century story of British art features artists of different generations working in Britain today. Some began exhibiting in the 1980s, while the youngest are in their twenties

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Zineb Sedira

Dreams Have No Titles combines the artist’s life story with fiction and documentary in ‘a film about film and filmmaking’

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A person in a yellow dress dances in a yellow room

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